Let's Go, Where I'm Mean't To Be
by AndieFlare
Summary: Reincarnation! AU. Fix-it. Ash just had a hunch when he jumped on Lugia's back that day when arriving in Vermilion City with the strange kid who introduced themselves as Gou. Nightmares and dreams of some past life had been plaguing his mind for a long time - and he didn't know why he was so afraid of Spearow, but hey, he wouldn't let that stop him from becoming a Pokemon Master.
1. Chapter 1

As they road on top of Lugia, Ash didn't think twice about the boy – boy? Was he a boy? He was rather feminine looking but Ash didn't question it. They both just jumped on the Legendary Pokémon's back and were soaring high in the sky letting the wind blow through their hair and –

"My name is Gou,"

Ash blinked. "Ash Ketchum."

It wasn't uncommon that Kantonians didn't give out their surnames right away. Ash was Kantonian, but he was mixed. A little Galarian, a little Kalosian, a little bit of Johtonian. He had bits and pieces of a lot of regions mixed in his veins, which made visiting family so interesting. He could speak more than one language and dialect, but he didn't know much about Gou.

"So, what made you want to ride Luiga?"

Gou laughed, more like a snort at first and then full on laughter. He clutched his stomach and Ash laughed too – it was a silly question but hey, they were here now. Ash's mother had always scolded her son for doing reckless things when he was little. But now he had a Pokémon of his own, and he was going to be fine. Even if he and Pikachu didn't get off on the right foot, they would eventually.

"Are you shitting me? Really?" Gou's eyelashes fluttered as the silver beast below them bellowed. He still had his Rotom Phone out and was taking all sorts of photos.

Ash snorted. "Yeah, guess it was dumb to ask. I just sorta… Had a feelin' to want to do it. Like I should."

_'Like I've done it before, weird.' _

Gou giggled. It sounded girly – but Ash didn't comment. He knew better than to ask things like that. Maybe Gou was a girl, but Ash didn't pry. "Your weird, alright! I'll let you be my friend, Ketchum." Ash's brow twitched annoyingly at the thought of someone being cocky like that – _that wasn't really how you made friends_.

But ever since Serena left for Kalos and Gary well… Gary and Ash were not on the right foot for a long while. That's why Ash was in Vermillion now. To meet Professor Sakuragi, and possibly seek out his aide. At least, that's what Professor Oak had suggested. Gary hadn't liked how Ash had always achieved better than him in the battle simulators at Professor Oak's Summer Camp, so Gary decided to go out and challenge the Gyms. Ash stayed behind – Professor Oak didn't think Ash would be ready, as he had woken up late on the day of their trainer inauguration.

Ritchie had chosen Charmander, Leaf had gone with Bulbasaur, and Gary Squirtle. It was only a natural decision that Ash would stay behind a while and train and Ash did, and he choose Pikachu. Though Ash's main goal was to become a Pokémon Master, and he wanted to beat Gary more than anything and rise to the top. He wanted to –

"Earth to Ketchum, oi!"

Gou tapped Ash's shoulder and he felt his cheeks go hot. "Oh! I was just thinkin, about stuff. What I'm going to do next now that I'm in Vermillion City."

Gou hummed. The child had put away their phone and tucked it in their pocket, Lugia still soaring gracefully in the air as they were then toppled onto the grass, somewhere in a flowery field… And… "Ouch what the fuck?! I thought we were having a good time!"

Luiga bellowed again and took off, sending a powerful gust of air and knocking both Ash and Gou back several feet into the tall grass. Ash paled. He had Repels on him, thankfully in his bag but he didn't think Gou had really thought to bring anything. It was like, instinct to come prepared even though his gut told him to jump onto Lugia. Ash knew he was going to get into danger regardless.

"Uh, I have Repels…" Ash shuffled through his bag handing one to Gou. It was a Super Repel!

"Good thinking Ketchum! Man, I'd be lost if it weren't for you. Thankfully Rotom has a flashlight – got anything else in there that'll keep us going?" Gou began chattering away as he was now darting past Ash and the Kantonian native yelped out.

"Wait – don't – avoid the tall grass!"

"Huh?"

There was a Spearow. Somehow, Ash felt like this was familiar.

"Hi Spearow," Ash whispered quietly. "we're not going to hurt you," Ash got into a crouching position – why was he so afraid? This hadn't happened… And yet… Ash reached in his bag and Gou was smiling.

"Come on, it's just a stupid bird, what could it do to us?"

Ash sucked in a breath and grabbed a container of Pokémon food. Thank Arceus he was prepared for this. "Spearow! Don't worry, I have food for you – look! We're not a threat, if you come with us there's more where this came from."

Spearow raised its eyebrows curiously. "Rooo," It didn't seem aggressive like the ones that were flashing through Ash's memories were. Instead, Ash popped open the lid of Pokémon food, it was a generic diet and leaned down to slowly toss some in the flowers.

Spearow began to gobble down the food in one gulp. It cooed happily like it wanted more. "Roo!" It spread its wings.

"How did… You do that?" Gou blinked, astounded.

"I don't know. I've always been afraid of Spearow since I was little and I don't know why, it was like something happened to me a long time ago I can't explain," Ash breathed and reached out to scratch Spearow's head. "Like I was hurt by one but I wasn't, it's weird."

Gou blinked. "What the _fuck_?"

"I keep getting memories now, when I road on Lugia with you. Like that wasn't the first time I encountered Legendary Pokémon."

Spearow seemed to like Ash.

"You encountered another Legendary before?!" Gou squealed excitedly, almost did a dance. "Tell me!?"

Ash winced at the sound of the kid's voice. "I don't know, I get dreams about them, like it's real, but Lugia's the first. Like I said I don't know why but I feel like all of it just is coming to me now. Say, Gou, what do you want to be?"

Ash knew he had been wanting to be a Pokémon Master for the longest time. Even before that – and that weird – he couldn't imagine why, he just felt like it was something he was destined to do. Like he was bound to do eventually but he had never gotten a chance to… Like reincarnation or something?

"I wanna catch all the Pokémon, and catch Mew!"

Ash's eyes went wide. So did Spearow and it squawked. "Why?"

"Dunno, just feel like that's something I'm meant to do. Like with Lugia I had a hunch to jump on it's back. Like you, but I've always loved science and research, which is why I'm now a student of his," Gou smiled. "Spearow seems to like you, why don't you catch it? Maybe it'll help you get over your fear."

Gou gave Ash a thumbs-up. It was so genuine and honest.

Then Ash felt something when he saw Spearow's eyes connect with his own. Ash gulped. "I – okay. Spearow, my name is Ash. My goal is to become a Pokémon Master. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I want to enter at least one of the Pokémon Leagues and win them at some point. Do you know about the Pokémon Gym Challenge?"

Gou's eyes went wide. "So, you wanna be a trainer, huh?" He smirked. "Collect badges."

Ash smiled and reached a hand out for Spearow. He had already touched the Tiny Bird Pokémon and it hadn't attacked him yet, which was good. The bird cooed and nuzzled into Ash's hand and Ash smiled. Ash explained to Spearow about the Gym Challenge, to collect eight badges and take on the Gym, to beat the Champion and be an Elite. But he wanted to be a Master, and Spearow was interested.

'_Catch me_,'

A voice resonated inside Ash.

Ash took out a Pokeball from his pocket. "Come on! Welcome to the family Spearow!" It felt so weird, calling a Spearow family. He felt like he was doing this differently and this wasn't supposed to be his first catch, due to the dreams and nightmares he had had when he was little. But who's to say Spearow wouldn't make a great Pokémon?

Ash laughed. Fell back, and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Ash Satoshi Ketchum,"

Gou blinked. "Eh?"

"That's my full name. I'm a little bit of Kantonian, Galarian, Johtonian and I think Kalosian. I speak several languages and I pick them up easily, I don't mean to pry, but," Ash held up a hand and Gou helped him up off the ground. "What are you? Just Katonian?

"Actually, I'm half Kantonian half Galarian too. I don't know much about the other regions since I've only been to Galar, my cousins live there which is how I speak English so well…  
Also, my full name is Gouko Scarletta Edwards. But please, just call me Gou… That's what Koharu and Professor Sakuragi call me… And what Victor calls me… I mean… Sometimes Victor calls me Red, cause that's my favorite color. Andi _hate_ pink,"

Ash blinked.

_Red_.

That sounded familiar.

"Okay, get the picture. So, you're a boy?"

Gou smiled. "Yup!" He did a peace-sign with his fingers that formed into a V. "Man I can't wait to get my starter! You're already a head of me, Ash!" Gou giggled, it sounded girly, they were walking ahead. "How old are you?"

"Ten, well ten and a half since I had to stay behind and study a little bit with Professor Oak since I didn't get my starter on time." Ash frowned and scrunched up his nose. "You?"

"Eleven! I've been a student with Professor Sakuragi for two years now, he really knows his stuff. He studies Pokémon Behavior and Ecology, tryin' to understand Pokémon better and studied under Professor Birch in Hoenn," Gou babbled as they walked.

Ash took out his Rotom Phone and found a direct route back to Vermillion City, fortunately it wasn't very far and the ten-year-old sprayed Repels and Bug Spray around them to make sure they wouldn't encounter any wild Pokémon they couldn't handle.

They finally made it back to Vermillion City, seeing the city skyline just above the horizon – both of their stomach's growling and Ash sighing. "I should've packed some food if I knew it was going to be like this," They didn't even have the energy to run to Professor Sakuragi's lab. Gou just brushed arms against Ash's and the ten-year-old blushed.

Why was he feeling this way around Gou?

He had never felt this way around anyone before. Not Serena, not Leaf and especially not… Gary. Not Ritchie either… So… Why now?

They had arrived in Professor Sakuragi's lab, and Ash met Koharu, who was a little awkward at first. She reminded him of Serena when they first met. Ash offered her his hand and she shook it reluctantly. But when she had heard about the incident with Lugia – Koharu scolded them both. "I can't believe you, Gou!"

Gou still remained calm and cool as always and flipped the tuff of his hair. "But my sweet Koharu!" His voice deep and sullen – Ash's heart racing suddenly. How did it manage to get so deep? He was so high pitched just now! "I did it all for the sake of science!"

Koharu's Pokémon, Yamper, which was a Galarian-native Pokemon charged up at Gou and shocked him lightly. "Yap, yap!" '_You should be more careful_!'

Ash chuckled. He bent down and held out a hand but was shocked by Yamper too. "Yip, yip!" '_You too, stupid boy_!'

Oh bother… And now he had to deal with his mother egging him about things for the next few days – and she was going to leave Mimey at Professor Sakuragi's lab. He had two Pokémon, he could take care of himself! He trained and studied for this!

"Now, now Koharu, Yamper I don't think that's necessary. Besides, Ash and Gou did get a lot of information that would help with our research… Right?" Professor Sakuragi was kind and obviously a dad, Ash still didn't know who his dad was, but Professor Oak had been more like a grandfatherly figure to him than anything.

Ash had explained from his perspective, and then Gou showed Professor Sakuragi the video and gave a very analytical and scientific deduction about Lugia. From the anatomy and to how Lugia flew… Ash knew that Gou didn't mean any harm. From all the things he had seen in his nightmares – Gou wasn't one of those people. The people who did bad things to Pokémon, though could Ash really trust Gou with those dreams?

He didn't want Gou to push his ideals for love of science to go too far. Because, Ash _liked_ Gou. He had a strange connection to the boy that butted heads with him when Professor Sakuragi compared their research notes. Ash wasn't good with school or maths, but Gou was. When Gou said that because they were now rivals – and Ash froze at that – _he didn't want a rival like Gary_ – but Gou had mentioned they would help each other out… Because what's the point in a rivalry unless neither of them get better?

That was something Ash had never heard before. Ash laughed, he almost wanted to cry. He almost wanted to hug Gou, and yet instead he held Gou's hand tightly in his own. It was the start of a beautiful friendship -a and a flaming rivalry. Ash was looking forward to it. Maybe Ash could convince Gou to take on the Gym Circuit… _Maybe_.

And that's how Ash Satoshi Ketchum became an assistant to Enzo Sakuragi of the Vermillion Sakuragi Research Institute.

* * *

_So I had a theory that the Ash in the 'reboot' series is the Ash of the old series. not necessarily like Ashes of the Past more like - think like The Legend of Zelda every incarnation of Link, if Link had remembered all his past adventures somehow. Imagine if in the anime, instead of just continuing on with the series as Ash was still 10 every time and never aging him and dying over and over, I'd like to think if they made it more like Zelda and started with a new series and made it more mature where Ash 'remembers' that would've been much more interesting. _

_Or not, but this is what I interpret the reboot will be like. There will be mentions of past characters, though it'll also focus on Gou and Ash. I haven't seen the new episode yet because it's going to come out on December 2nd, I believe. I am going to also make references to the Reboot Movies (I choose You and the other one I think it was Power of Us?) as those have some significance to it. I really enjoy the new series and I can't wait for more, and if your wondering if Gou is based on Red - _

_Maybe, there is a high possibility that she/he is. Or maybe someone else from another timeline, either way, I'd like you to stay tuned, and no matter which way the series goes I hope to add my own original twist to it. I also made Professor Sakuragi's goal a bit different. Also, Sakuragi is his surname, and Koharu's surname is Sakuragi and Sakuragi's name is Enzo. cause... yeah. Just letting you know. _


	2. Chapter 2

I'm doing much better, my family's doing much better and I know writing makes me feel good. Thank you for all your likes, comments and faves/follows while I've been feeling down. I've been inspired since I've been away and I just needed a little break.

Just a little information on this fic as a whole

-Gou is a transboy but is a reincarnation of a character from one of the other Pokemon series (may not necessarily be the anime but is elaborated on further here)

-Which universe Ash came from is elaborated on as well is also explained further, since people had thought this series was going to be a reboot due to the logos looking like the reboot movies, I put emphasis on characters being mentioned from the Pokemon I Choose You Movies - don't worry other characters from the Original Series and the previous anime will make an appearance, their role just might be different here. (Ash will hopefully get to travel to every region including Galar)

-Team Rocket plays a different role in this story as well.

-This is a reincarnation/reboot story about Ash and Gou as dual-protagonists. _Think Legend of Zelda if when Link was reincarnated in the timeline if Link would slowly regain his memories over the course of each game_.

* * *

When Gou had stated that he did not want either Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle as either of his starter of choice – instead he wanted Mew (fucking Mew!) Ash nearly face-faulted to the floor. It left Professor Sakuragi about a week of processing with Professor Marietta Magnolia in Galar to get a starter that was 'worthy' of Gou Edward's liking. And oh boy, when Professor Magnolia heard about what Gou had to say about Gou wanting to catch all the Pokémon and wanting Mew as his starter…

"Well tough luck starting in Galar then, our League is in need of a serious reform and although Leon is a good Champion, he just listens to whatever Rose has to say. The boy doesn't know his lefts from his rights. Sonia is getting fed up with Leon's babbling about how he's the 'strongest'," Marietta sighed. "We don't even have an Elite Four, but hopefully one day that'll change. Say, is young Gou-kun interested in taking the Junior Circuit over there?"

Sakuragi smiled at the elderly Professor's ranting. She knew Enzo was a talented Professor and though he was young, she didn't mind going off on a tangent sometimes to her colleagues, and now – she considered Enzo a colleague. He would have to suffer the same fate as Samuel and the others did. When Enzo was placed the Professor's Studying and Research Chatroom that they had made to stay connected with one another, Enzo was quite terrified of her. But Enzo warmed up later on and knew if he just listened, he'd eventually make peace with everyone. They were more experienced than him, of course.

"I don't think so. But he's made quick friends with Satoshi-kun," using Ash's Kantonian name, as they were currently speaking in Kantonian. "_Ash_, _Satoshi_, _Ketchum_" he said in Galarin and his Galarian wasn't quite good. He had studied in Unova under Cedric Juniper and had still a thick accent, but it was still easy to understand if he talked slow enough.

"Good." Though Marietta spoke in Kantonian fluently. It was said she was rivals with Agatha Kikuko and Samuel Oak years ago when they travelled around the world. She never tried to enter any leagues, but she did most of her travelling for the sake of research. It was Samuel who wanted to be Champion at the time, though he only retained his title for a short time…

"Scorbunny's quite powerful and very fast. It's also a very popular choice. Gou-kun being part Galarian I'm sure they'll fit nicely together, and him wanting a rare Pokémon well," Her lips turned into a smile. "I've got a female pup that I can give him. It's not got much battle experience but it knows basic attacking moves. Gou-kun has a Rotom Phone, right? Have you given him a Pokedex App to go along with it?"

Sakuragi nodded yes. "I have, hai! He's been collecting all sorts of data with the photo app. He even encountered Lugia a week ago…"

Marietta's eyes went wide.

"_No shit_?" She said in Galarian now.

Enzo burst out laughing. "It was just 'instinct' he said and wanted to jump on it, Ash didn't know why, but he said it was like he felt like he'd done it before. So, he jumped on Lugia's back and the Legendary dumped them in the Honeydew Fields about forty-minutes away from Vermillion."

Marietta frowned. The boys were just like Samuel. When he had claimed he had seen Celebi once when he was a child, but didn't want to press further, and it was his dream to see it again which was why he became a Pokémon Professor, do research more on Pokémon – that had also slightly inspired Marietta. Marietta and Agatha nearly had a life-threatening encounter with Ho-Oh once. The great Rainbow Phoenix nearly got into an encounter with Entei, she couldn't believe her eyes.

She had been scared of the Legends after that, and never did tell her family why she was atheist since then. Most Professors are either agnostic or atheist, but Marietta is full-blown atheist, maybe – Agatha mused – they had gotten too close to a sacred spot Oh-Ho was protecting. Or maybe Entei had angered Oh-Ho and they were fighting. Maybe this was a routine thing – maybe, maybe, maybe.

Who knows what these boys would bring…? Destruction? Chaos? Death to themselves? Marietta closed her eyes. "Enzo-kun, I highly suggest you keep an eye on Gou and Ash. I do not want a repeat of what has happened in the future, their lives could be at stake. I do not know what Lugia was doing at the time near Vermillion City, rumor has it that a Lugia inhabits Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago but hasn't been seen in over a hundred years. I don't know if this is the same one – but you are the adult, don't let them kill themselves over their stupid passions. It's not worth it."

Enzo's eyes darkened and he lowered his head. He kicked the floor with his sneakers and sighed. "I haven't been a very good boarder, have I? Koharu is fed up with Ash and Gou's troublemaking and I've been doing nothing but encouraging it. Though I was shocked when Koharu – at age six-years-old said she had seen Mew with Gou, I was too invested in my research to really care about anything else,"

Tears welded in his eyes. "I let the scientific side of my brain get the better of me. Ever since the death of Kiyomi my dear wife, I've never really got around to telling Koharu how much I love her and appreciate her. Koharu – I don't even know what she wants to be in the future, I've never asked."

Marietta held up a hand. "Then ask her, just a father-daughter talk between you and Koharu, it'll do you some good. Clear your head, take a day off. I'm still sending over Scorbunny, regardless. Tell Gou he'll have to deal with Scorbunny whether he likes it or not. This is the best I – Professor Magnolia can provide. If he doesn't like it, he should give up having a starter because there's no luck in trying to catch a Mythical like Mew."

Enzo nodded. "I'll explain it to him. I'll make it clear enough where he gets the message."

"Take care, Enzo, sleep well. I mean it, don't sacrifice your sleep for research. I may be old and can't stay up too much during the day – but don't let Samuel or Nathaniel be an example for what you should be. Take care of your body, and your children," Finally Marietta smiled and turned off the monitor.

Enzo sighed. Listening to the whirling hum of the machines in the lab, he didn't know what else to do. That is – until a Pokeball appeared in the transporter. It was the Scorbunny that they were just talking about. A message had just popped up on the screen from Marietta in Kantonian.

'_Give it to him when you want, but I highly suggest to wait until you think he's ready. Pick his brain a little, it's always fun to see children be challenged. She's very healthy and at the top of her pedigree, she's also very friendly and open to people if not a little naïve. Tell Gou he'll have to be patient with her because she's still a pup. – Marietta_.'

Enzo smiled. He wasn't going to rest just yet; he had some things he had to do to prepare.

. . .

Ash was in his room; he was on the bottom bunk and Gou – stupid Gou had taken the top bunk. He'd never had a sibling before, so he never had to share his stuff. This felt likewise with Gou, as Gou was always making a competition out of every little thing… Everything! What side of the room was going to be theirs – as it was a fairly large room with a divider put in place where even though they were sleeping in bunks, Ash had one side where he could decorate it and place a laptop all to himself.

The laptop was coming later and Ash had just gotten his own Rotom Phone. He had scanned Pikachu with his Rotom Phone and learnt what it could do. He had only recently gotten the Electric Mouse, and knew it was male, but really, he had no idea what else Pikachu could do. Thunder Shock, but that was it. He also had to scan Spearow who was currently out sitting on a perch which was sitting on the windowsill preening his feathers.

Ash took a picture of Pikachu with the Rotom Phone. The phone buzzed to life and Ash nearly dropped it as he yelped. Spearow squawked.

_Pikachu the Electric Mouse Pokémon. This Pikachu is Male and his Ability is Static. Pikachu knows the following moves Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Nasty Plot. _

_Pikachu are small ground-dwelling Pokémon that survive mostly in forests and are omnivorous. They should be fed cooked meats like poultry and pork and SOME seafood sparingly (also the seafood should be COOKED never raw). Pikachu should be given an Iron Supplement as their heart -which is an organ – pumps blood throughout their bodies and emits electricity causing them to sometimes become anemic and getting electric discharge sickness or EDS. Common in electric types. Most Electric-based Pokémon food found in supermarkets have Iron in them. In the wild, Pikachu mainly thrive off of nuts, berries, bugs and vegetables and herbs. They are good scavengers and have an excellent sense of smell. _

_Pikachu get their highest amount of electric-supercharged during thunderstorms. But be careful when training electric attacks outside, as this could kill a young Pikachu who is not used to maintain large electrical attacks for very long. This Pikachu is four years old. Basic training is recommended to start out strengthening its attacks. _

Well… That was a lot. The text appeared on a page, under Pikachu's profile, apparently it was now filled with an encyclopedia that Ash could look up anytime under a tab so he wouldn't have to write it down. It also had a list of Pikachu's preferred foods and foods that would be healthy and beneficial overall to his overall growth. Ash didn't want to waste much time and scanned Spearow.

_Spearow The Tiny bird Pokémon. This Spearow is Female and her Ability is Keen Eye. Spearow knows the following moves Peck, Pursuit, Quick Attack, Hidden Power._

_Spearow have larger talons and sharper beaks than their rival species Pidgey. Hailing from Kanto, they are notoriously aggressive but the females are calmer and smaller in size typically as the males try to fight for dominance in the flock. This is typical behavior. Spearows are omnivores fowl and eat mainly insects as their primary source of meat, but as they mature, they will eat eggs (unfertilized) and even fish – though rarely. Domesticated, it is far more common to see Spearow eating fish if cooked though not all like the taste. _

_A Spearow's talons and beak once fully mature are strong enough to break open the hardest of nuts and eggshells. Some even say that a Fearow (their evolved form) can break a Shellder's Shell and pry open the meat inside. Spearows are very good hunters, and despite their poor eyesight have a very good sense of smell and normally like to fly low to the ground in order to search for prey. If trained, they can become very fast (faster than the Pidgey line) and can learn very powerful moves physical moves that they typically get a STAB from. Spearow also like to eat bird seed, grains and pasta (hard pasta is good for breaking boredom and good for their beaks and teeth). Though it is not recommended they live off of this, give your Spearow toys they can use to work their brains with. Spearow are very smart and enjoy challenges and don't like to be outsmarted._

_Many trainers think that the females are smarter than the males which is why they're so highly sought after. Bird Pokémon in general can get blood feathers – a very deadly thing that if not taken care of properly due to stress, poor diet and over preening. This is a very deadly thing and can cause your bird to bleed to death. If not taken care of immediately by another human, your bird will die. Please have an expert on hand or a bird-Pokémon first-aide kit to properly learn how to remove feathers and keep your bird stress-free. _

_This Spearow is only a year old. It has not yet matured, please use caution when training and try to keep her as stress free when possible. _

Ash's eyes widened. He didn't know about the blood feathers. "I didn't know that," He just thought that Spearow were dumb and aggressive and liked to bully other trainers whenever they were pissed off. But he had so much knowledge now on how to take care of his Spearow properly – her – he might not be so afraid. "Hey Spearow,"

Spearow cooed and titled her head. "I'm sorry I was so afraid of you when I caught you. It's just… I was never attacked by a Spearow before… But I felt like a long time ago, I might have been – like – in another life, if that makes sense? Do you believe in reincarnation? Do Pokémon know what that is?"

"Pika!" '_There are theories about it._' Pikachu mused and nudged Ash's hand.

"Roo, Spear." '_I've heard the Legendary Oh-Ho being able to die and come back to life through flames and Ash. She's legendary amongst us birds. Well, we think she's a she. Of course, birds respect her. But that's just a rumor, no one has ever seen her before but in Kanto they say she must've been spotted maybe a hundred years ago_.'

Ash's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Spearow, spear, roo!" '_By the way, I've noticed you've been able to hear me speak pretty much fluently with no problems at all. You didn't mention it to the boy you were with before but you can understand me… There's no doubt about it. Yet why? How_?'

Ash shrugged. "Dunno, I just always had the ability to talk to Pokémon. Weird, huh?"

"Pika-pika-chu." '_Makes it easier on us, so it's not weird_.'

"What about you, Spearow, do you think I'm weird?" Ash looked heartbroken whether or not his own Pokémon would reject him. Especially one he was somewhat afraid of.

Spearow nodded her head. "Rooo!" '_I do not think your weird. My mother raised me alone – she was a very strong Pidgeot. But she was rejected from her flock because she mated with a Fearow who left her alone with a lone egg. That egg was me, my mother trained me to be strong as possible to prepare for possible humans. She also warned me about an evil group of human thieves running around Kanto who steal Pokémon for profit_,'

Spearow sniffed. '_I worry for her. Now that I've been captured. I don't know where she is now that we've parted ways_.'

Ash shudders. "Pokémon thieves…?"

Could Spearow mean… Team Rocket? The people he had seen Officer Jenny taking to the police station in Viridian City that time when Ash was nine? It was supposed to be a simple trip, but an attack on the Viridian City Pokémon Center had happened and Team Rocket had come in to steal sick and injured Pokémon. His mother and him had witnessed some agents being arrested. Ash was terrified out of his mind that day.

"I think I know who your talking about," Ash muttered.

"Rooo, Spear!?" '_You do_!?'

The door slammed right open.

"Hey Ash! Kikuna-san and Renji-san said I might get my starter soon! It's not Mew but it is something rare!" Gou had stars in his eyes and they were… Twinkling, he had a blush on his face and he looked like he was ready to jump high in the air. "Apparently it's already here – man I can't believe they want to 'test' me for it! Why do I need a test?"

Ash sighed and shook his head. Spearow flapped her wings and squawked. "It's okay Spearow, this Gou – the boy you met yesterday remember when we were trapped in the Honeydew fields?" Ash let out a hand to Spearow and she nuzzled into the raven-haired boy's palm. "I wonder why too, you're a great student here and you deserve your starter,"

Gou flushed and looked away. "Koharu said it's punishment for me riding on Lugia the other day. To teach me a lesson to not go do reckless stuff again," Gou kicked the floor and swung his sneakers against the bed making a light 'thumping' sound. "She's been really on my case a lot ever since then."

Ash was still petting Spearow. He was petting a Spearow! "Have you two been fighting?"

Gou's blue eyes flickered and his face went crimson red. "I – maybe… I guess I should really talk to her, right? But I've got nothin' to apologize for! She knows me by now!"

Ash sighed and stopped petting Spearow. Spearow squawked and Ash stuck his tongue out at the Tiny Bird 'my hand is getting tired, that's all your getting'. The brown-eyed boy turned to the blue-eyed one and made an unimpressed face. "I know that I got on Lugia's back too, but I told you that I felt like I'd done it before right? I know it doesn't sound good enough to some people – because some of the things I've done… Well done before… Were dangerous."

Gou leaned his hands back on Ash's bed. "What do you mean, your eleven, like me. How could you have done anything more dangerous than that?" He blinked. "Oh fuck, now you're getting me to admit it!" He slapped his head. "I should leave."

"No wait – Gou – just listen." Ash grabbed Gou's arm and the blue-eyed boy blushed. "Please, I need to talk to you, it's a long story but… I just need a _person_ to hear me out."

"Eh…?" So, Gou sat back down. Ash moved next to Gou, arms wrapped around his waist and his elbow brushing up against Gou.

"Here's the story. Or what I know most of it anyway."

Gou was silent throughout the whole thing. Like when Ash told the blue-eyed boy about when he first met Pikachu. It wasn't the first time, either. Being shocked like that, like it had zapped all the memories together somehow. It had somehow clicked. And again, with Spearow. It wasn't the first time Ash had encountered a Spearow. This time it was far easy going than the first, but the first time he remembers a young boy at the age of ten –

Waking up late to receive his starter like how Ash did at first but instead of the second time around, this boy got to go on his journey. This foggy figure and his Pikachu that wouldn't listen to him threw a rock at a Spearow – the Spearow then called its friends – the Spearow flock chased him – and chased him – until they were almost cornering him to the point where he couldn't run. The foggy figure tried to get his Pikachu back inside its ball, but it wouldn't go, instead, it leaped off the foggy figure who was protecting Pikachu at the time's shoulder and a massive lighting strike came down from the thundercloud above.

The figure's Pikachu killed all the Spearow. Then – the figure had seen Oh-Ho. The figure had seen something else too… A rainbow wing –

"A Rainbow Wing!?" Gou nearly fell backwards.

"Feeling the Rainbow Wing in my dreams it was almost real… Then riding on top of Lugia it wasn't like I had met that particular Lugia before, but I knew what energy was radiating off of Lugia at the time… Pokémon… Pokémon have a specific energy around them. All around us – you – the plants, the trees, Pokémon, everyone has a life force. And I'm able to feel it,"

Ash sniffed. "I bet you think I'm some sort of freak."

Gou's eyes widened in horror. How could he? Ash was so pure, so noble and _so kind_.

With a story like that – Gou had to assume that the figure had to have been Ash.

Because Gou had been having dreams of a boy in some other life as well. "Nah, I'm the freak here. I'm too smart, I'm not even a boy, I have girl parts, I know I wasn't born a boy and I think I'm in the same boat as you, with this whole 'other life thing'." Gou huffed and crossed his arms.

Ash blinked. "What?"

"I don't know, but I think I get dreams time-to-time about a really quiet boy who went on a journey and became Champion, yet he didn't want to become Champion, instead he went to Mt. Silver to go train for a long time, I dunno where he went after that, but he had a Pikachu too, that's all I really know about him and he liked the color Red and he really liked his rival but never got around to telling him,"

Ash flushed. "He did?" That was a lot. Ash had been having dreams of people who had accompanied him on his journeys – a girl and her Piplup and a boy and his Lucario. But he didn't think he'd ever have feelings for them.

"Remember how my cousin Victor calls me Red? It's just a nickname but I didn't even come up with it, even though I hated Gokou cause' I knew I wasn't a girl – and maybe I was this dude and his Pikachu who had a crush on this rival guy, maybe that's why I'm a boy born in the wrong body a second time, but…" Gou sighed. "I'm a freak."

Ash gasped. "You're not – I mean – look at me, Gou! I spewed everything to you and you didn't judge me, why would I judge you?!"

Gou laughed. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed and then he started crying. It wasn't often that he cried. Ash reached out to touch him but the boy sitting next to him wiped his eyes on his shirt and sighed. Pikachu sat in his lap and for some reason – Gou felt like it was right. Petting another Pikachu. "I'm not just saying that I'm a freak because of this whole reincarnation thing, Ash. I'm a freak because I'm not even who I want to be, like my body and all that. I hate myself half the time and I'm not even in the right body. I get nightmares sometimes and I fuckin' hate it. I feel like my head is playing tricks on me…"

'_Not to mention, my crush is right here and I can't even touch_ – 'Gou was surprised when Ash pulled the fellow research assistant into a hug. Tears formed in his eyes but didn't fall, and Ash's Pikachu wedged between them and was vibrating up against Gou's stomach. "I," Gou was nuzzling his face into Ash's neck. "I am a boy. That's all I know right now."

"That's fine."

They stayed like that for a while. Until Koharu came in and Ash, Gou, and Pikachu passed out on Ash's bed holding hands.

'_Yup, nothing unordinary at all_.' Koharu giggled. She'd give them some more time, to let one of the assistants deal with it. She knew Gou and her were fighting still 'technically' but as long as Koharu could remember Gou had nightmares about little things he wouldn't tell her about. Koharu didn't really like Ash at first when he had first arrived to the lab, but maybe this would be a turn-around for Gou's recklessness.

Maybe he would open up to people more and stop being such an introvert. Because really, ever since they were little, Gou had been like a sister first, then a brother. Koharu knew that Gou was adamant on not-being a girl yet still wore that stupid red hairclip Koharu had given him when he was four. It was a showcase of how loyal he was. And Gou was a good friend, Koharu just wished he wouldn't do reckless things.

Their dinner wouldn't go cold, but instead they would be woken up by a few minutes by Kikuna or Renji. Seems like they had a long talk.

* * *

Ash is 11

Gou is nearing 11.

Koharu is nearing 11, the same age as Gou. They have known each other since they were 2 years old in this cannon.

The rest of this story will deviate from the 2019 series cannon entirely.

Next chapter - Gou gets a trial test that allows Scorbunny to 'choose' him and if it works, Ash and Gou are sent to their first assignment together. (Which will also be different from cannon.)

(Also despite Ash and Gou's 'hug' this is very slow-burn, Ash and Gou will not be kissing or pairing up as they are still KIDS. Serena and Gary are mentioned and will be making appearances eventually. So will Brock and Misty, etc. But how I in-cooperate them will be entirely different. Some Pokemon may be different from cannon.)

I don't usually like to beg for reviews but your feedback really does make me feel better. I like constructive criticism and please refrain from fighting in the reviews or else i'll just move it to another site and refuse to post on fan-fiction dot net and no one will be happy. Because I am depressed and suffer from mental health issues so please keep your negative comments to yourself (constructive feedback is welcome though and suggestions help to, but I like to keep the plot suspenseful but feel free to ask me any questions you have about the story in case your wondering I just try not to spoil anything)

Thanks - Andy


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for your support in your reviews. Just as a forewarning this chapter talks about some heavy stuff. Like Pokemon death, mentions of depression, psychiatric issues in children and child abandonment (mentioned) and other mental health issues are established and more insight on Gou's character as a whole is looked into. LGBT references are made, looking into Gou's gender and sexuality – his 'crush' on Ash and mentions of puberty.

Political jargon and worldbuilding is established, Gary Oak also is mentioned in this chapter! So, yeah. Ash barely makes an appearance – only is mentioned as this is mostly from Gou's POV, sorry. I know this is short but I wanted to keep it that way.

* * *

When Gou had one look at the female Scorbunny he had a different idea completely in his head on what he should have for his starter. Like, really. Something in his gut twisted like this wasn't meant to be. He should be getting a different Pokémon entirely, but Scorbunny had a twinkle in her eyes and she was so soft at his touch… When Gou ran his fingers through her fur he nearly squeaked in excitement.

Though of course, he would never do that cause' that would be totally uncool. But why couldn't he admit that he wanted a Pokémon like Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander? It didn't feel right, at least. Not in this life he was living now. He needed a fresh new pace – but he did want a Pikachu. He wasn't going to store his said Pikachu in the PC Box and not use it, he wanted Pikachu to be apart of his team. He wondered if Viridian Forest was a way to go in capturing one.

"Lula, that's your name!" Gou lifted the rabbit pup in the air and twirled her around. He was happy, for the first time in a long time. Lula nibbled her teeth into her shirt and got drool on his neck when she licked him. "Ew, gross!"

"She's still a baby, and she didn't have any time with her mother before she was sent to Professor Magnolia, so she has some habits that need to be broken," Professor Sakuragi patted Gou's chest down with a towel. "She doesn't have much battling experience. But she knows two basic attacking moves and a status reducing one."

Gou's blue eyes flashed towards Lula who was still chittering and grinding her teeth. "Stop that, that'll damage your teeth." Gou placed her down but immediately the pup wanted to be picked back up. "I'm going to scan you with Rotom to see what moves you know – it'll also take your picture so try to smile?" Gou held the phone up but Lula coward in fear, tail shaking in her stance.

Gou sighed. "One… two," And a 'click' not even a flash, like the old cameras had. Instead Lula yelped and fell on her butt and Gou giggled. "I got a picture, wanna see it?" Gou helped Lula up by her armpit and showed her the picture. "Not so scary huh? Rotom say hi, cut down on the theatrics."

_"I am programmed to assist Gou Edwards, I mean no harm little Scorbunny, I mean – Lula. I hope we can become friends, even though I am learning the concept myself, bzzt!" _

"Rotom is a Pokémon native to Sinnoh, he's – I mean they – since they're a genderless Pokémon has put themselves inside the phone here, and the phone can do lots!" Gou showed Rotom's character pop up on the screen. "Browse the internet, take video, take pictures, stream videos to social media… Do video calls from anywhere in the world as long as you have an instant connection somewhere – it's pretty neat! Though you probably don't know what that means, I'll show you later."

"Raaa!" Lula began to run around and her feet left a fiery trail behind her. Gou gasped.

"That's natural for Scorbunny it won't harm the flooring, plus she's still young and the flames she emits are very weak." Professor Sakuragi laughed. "Why don't you check her moves now? That is if you plan on battling with her."

Gou rolled his eyes and looked at his Pokedex App on his phone. After taking Lula's picture, it had everything he needed to know about her.

_Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokémon. This Pokémon is Female and has the Ability Blaze. Her name is Lula and is registered to Gou Edwards who is sponsored by Professor Enzo Sakuragi, this Scorbunny is eight weeks old. And knows the following moves Tackle, Growl, Ember, Super Fang. Basic training is recommended for this Pokémon. Scorbunny are diurnal species and live in tribes dominated by does – also known as the 'females' of this species. The bucks are extremely dominant and aggressive. Harems are not uncommon for this species, culling the weak and picking the strong to survive to ensure tribal security rather than unity. _

_Scorbunny are vegetarian and should never be fed meat. Though they love carrots, only should be fed sparingly as they are high in sugar. Hay, grass, and other things most 'livestock' commonly eat should be given to wear their teeth down. A good mixture of a high-quality grass-based diet should be given. Fruits should be fed sparingly; nuts should never be given unless they come in a hard shell and are provided as a boredom-breaker solution and the Pokémon is supervised. _

_Scorbunny love to chew on Charcoal. It wears down their teeth and powers-up their fire-based attacks, but can be rather expensive. Fire wood that has been smoked by flames or torched can be an inexpensive solution, but not burnt firewood. Do not give your Scorbunny coal – this is toxic to them and the soot from the coal is dangerous. Scorbunnies have a lot of energy and need to be kept on a consistent schedule to prevent bad habits from arising, if used in battles they may become disobedient due to lack of exercise, improper nutrition and lack of attention. These Pokémon NEED consistency and variety in their lives. _

_Consult with your local expert or your sponsor to find out more about this species. _

"Is it true that Soot is dangerous to Scorbunnies? Is so how do I counteract moves like smokescreen?" Gou wondered since fire-types normally produced their own type of 'smoke' from their bodies when they had the inability to control their flames, like Charmander snorted smoke from their nostrils and so did Growlithe. So how was he supposed to keep Scorbunny away from soot?

"Just don't let Lula ingest too much. For example, there was a tribe of Cinderaces in the Wilds of Galar that were mostly killed off due to a fire occurring in the forests, some say it was set on purpose to get them away from their nests,"

Gou's eyes widened. "There are people like that in Galar!?"

Professor Sakuragi sighed and shook his head. "Yes, unfortunately there are. The rangers set up in the wild area were duped and hadn't seen it coming. So, they were unprepared, though the fire-fighters sent helicopters with packs of water to set out the flames, it was quite eventful. Galar was upset about it for a long time and still is."

Gou looked at Lula who shook for a while and he winced. "Hey, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you like that alright? We're a family now, and like they say in Alola, Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten." Lula hasn't seen Lilo and Stitch yet – "Just wait until you see Disney, and Ghibli, you're gonna love it!"

Lula titled her head to the side. "Raaa?"

Gou had to make a checklist. All the things he was going to do with his new family member. It was going to be great!

Though, he ignored Professor Sakuragi's laugh when the new trainer picked up his Galarian starter and hugged her tight. Lula put her paws on Gou's shoulders and licked his neck, this time he didn't even mind the drool. He was that happy.

. . .

Gou's checklist (may or may not be applying to Lula but some might).

_-Look up a Galarian support form about raising newly hatched Scorbunnies for competitive battling (did he want to go into the Gyms? He would have to invest some sort of stability into Lula's lifestyle like 'training' or 'battling' however anyone wanted to word it, but he didn't know if he wanted to take on the gyms exactly)_

_-Buy her a lot of treats and toys and more food_

_-Ask Ash if he wanted to battle, when Lula was ready_

_-Watch all the movies from his childhood with Lula (see if Ash has seen any and maybe get him to have a party and stay up one night? What video games does Ash like?)_

_-Find where he can catch a Pichu or a Pikachu in Kanto._

Gou's mind was reeling. He had mentioned Ash several times on his list and Ash wasn't even here right now – he was training Pikachu and Spearow. Spearow to learn type-resistances and Pikachu to learn better moves for the Pewter Gym. Ash could always get a fighting-type, but Ash knew Spearow could win if she learnt a move like Steel Wing. Gou wasn't so sure, but Ash was determined.

There was something about Ash that reminded Gou of someone that he had lost a long time ago. Their talk about reincarnation and stuff and other lives had Gou's head hurting, but Ash was an amazing person – how could he not think abut that otherwise? Fuck, he was cute to (Koharu will never know or Gou would kill himself first).

Gou liked Koharu. He liked girls and he thought they were pretty, but Ash… Ash was so nice-looking. His warm brown eyes and his unique zig-zag cheek marks – Ash admitted they were birthmarks and he had always had them. He just didn't know who he got them from. Gou laughed, he wanted to spend more time with Ash, get to know the guy better. Gou never had any friends – only Koharu.

Gou vaguely remembered a kid named Gary Oak in Professor Oak's Summer Camp who was a year below him. The kid was cocky and even though Gary was younger than he was, Gou didn't like his attitude and beat him several times on the simulators. It was weird how Gou and Ash never ran into each other then. Ash said that he and his mother travelled a lot, mainly because there were times Ash was homeschooled and didn't get along well with the other kids in the school.

There were a few – but Gary always gave him trouble. They were friends, at first, Ash admitted, but then everything turned into bad blood when Ash woke up late for his starter. '_No, it was before that_,' Ash laminated about his childhood much more openly than Gou did. '_Gary' always been full of himself. He almost made me want to punch him once. I never want to physically harm anyone… So… That's saying a lot_.'

Gary reminded Gou of a boy in his dreams. The boy's name was Blue. Why Blue? Blue had always spoke in Kalosian, or French as Gou worded it in Gou's dreams so he didn't understand any of them when he was little, but they were teasing tones and mocking words. One time – when Gou dreamed of Blue, they were in a tower filled with a ghostly Aura and Blue was scared and clinging to Gou – or at least it felt like Gou (the dreams always felt so real).

_"I just wanted to bury Raticate… But the Rockets got in the way. There are monsters up there, Red, monsters. Like the boogie man, don't go up there," _

Then a sinking feeling in Gou's gut – Red's gut – made him feel like an asshole.

Gou had _killed_ Blue's Raticate.

Gou was responsible.

Yet he was going to destroy the Rockets, whoever they were –

Then Gou woke up.

'_No, let me see more. Let me help Blue_!'

Little Gou's eyes filled with tears that night. He wept and wept and he couldn't explain it to any of his foster parents why he was so upset. They took him to a therapist but he kept his mouth shut, Gou didn't want to be locked up in a psyche ward. When Gou was sponsored by Professor Sakuragi – Gou had told him about his relationship with his parents. How he had been having nightmares and how the medication he was on wasn't because he was crazy, it was to keep him drugged and 'sane'.

Enzo Sakuragi took the boy and adopted him into his home. Gou was five then. Koharu and Gou had always known each other, their parents fond of one another. Despite Gou's 'parents' not being fond of Gou. Enzo just never seeing this – Gou didn't call Enzo dad. It just felt weird. When Gou came out to Koharu and Professor Sakuragi about his gender, Professor Sakuragi listened and allowed him to dress in an androgynous manner, or however way he wanted until he was old enough to take hormones.

Gou was going to take hormones as soon as he turned fifteen, until then birth control was going to be a solution to stop his periods. Which would be fine, he could bind, Koharu had much bigger breasts then him already and she was eleven…! Arceus. Gou didn't even want to think about when he hit puberty in like two, three years. He was fine with his girly voice, Professor Sakuragi had gotten him a vocal coach and was practicing for when he does take his hormones. He also knows how to play piano, so that was a bonus.

Victor Reynolds was not his biological cousin, more like his adoptive cousin or 'foster' cousin. They were more like pen-pals that started as online friends when Gou was attending Professor Oak's Summer Camp. It was an exchange program Professor Oak had set up for the older students, to meet a pen pal overseas. Gou chose Galar, since he was Galarian and that was something he knew about himself (the name Edwards gave it away). Though most students mocked him for choosing Galar due to Kanto's poor relation with the English-speaking region, Gou didn't care.

Gou instantly became good friends with Victor, and there was no bad blood at all between him and his new 'cousin'. Gou always admitted he'd get along with Alolans and probably have an easier time as a trainer if he was born in Alola than in Kanto, but he didn't care. Victor was three years younger than him. He had a best friend named Hop 'Howard' Montgomery, who had a brother named Leon and Leon was currently the Galarian Champion.

Leon had been Champion since he was ten – and that reminded Gou of someone. A certain someone from his dreams.

Gou felt for Leon. Being Champion did not seem easy. Though whenever Gou saw Leon on his Rotom phone when he got direct livestreams from his feed from Galar, he couldn't help but notice whenever Leon smiled to his 'fans' he seemed to be faking it. Was there more to Leon than he seemed? Gou's stomach clenched at the idea of becoming Champion at ten, and while he wasn't ten – he was eleven – he couldn't phantom the responsibility. He'd probably turn down the offer.

Lance was a Dragon Master and far more experienced than Leon. Sure, Galar had Dynamaxing. But several of Lance's Pokémon could Mega Evolve and only needed to when absolutely necessary. He didn't need to even Mega Evolve most of his Pokémon (like his Charizard, who rarely battled anymore anyway) to wipe the floor with most trainers who did manage to make it to him. Lance had also established a way to teach his Pokémon how to counterbalance type resistances. Which was super awesome. Gou suspected that unless a trainer from another region showed up with a non-Kantonian Pokémon with a dual-typing specifically designed and groomed to take down Lance's team, Lance would never get to resign as Champion. Which was a shame. He looked like he was getting bored.

But Gou suspected that Lance kept his title due to all the crime that was in the region. Gangs, Poachers – petty thieves – etc. Team Rocket were making their mark again on the Kantonian and Johtonian map and it was embarrassing for the Military Government. Did Ash know about any of this? Was he just blissfully unaware of the violence that was in the region? Because he seemed so full of life at the moment, he didn't seem to dabble much into politics or think scientifically for himself.

That's where Ash and Gou butted heads a lot. Though Ash's ability to understand Pokémon on such a deep emotional level could get him seriously hurt someday. People could want to use that power for something bad. And if Gou had learnt anything from reading comic books or watching movies over the years – that if Ash had revealed his abilities to just random strangers to whomever asked, he'd be targeted.

Yet Ash and Pikachu were like soulmates and they had only been together for like less than a year. So, Gou didn't think Pikachu was going to let Ash go down without a fight, that thing was scarily protective of his human. Yet Pikachu was still pretty tame, and friendly to other Pokémon. Despite Yamper not liking him at first Pikachu managed to get the lighting puppy to warm up quickly.

Gou's head hurt. And he was tired. He'd think about this stuff later, after he had a good meal and had some fun. Because now he was tired and he didn't want to think about much of anything but spending time with his friends and his new Pokémon.

* * *

So yeah, the original idea for this chapter was to introduce Jessie, James and Meowth and for Gou and Ash to go on their first assignment together. But I ended up doing some worldbuilding instead and some insight on Gou's character as a whole. Maybe we'll do some actual exploring in the next chapter, but I had to get this out of the way and establish Lula as a character too and give more information on the Galar region as well.

A little insight on the whole Champion thing – being Champion in the Pokemon region isn't easy. It's a lot of work and the fact that Red in the original games turned down his title and gave it to Lance and went to isolate himself to Mt. Silver for three years proves it. Leon wouldn't do that, but there is more to Leon's story than he seems and I'm heavily basing his character and most of what Galar has going on for this fic based off of another fic that I'm reading that's very dark and very adult. (So, the rating may be changed and somewhat censored on this site, though you can read the uncensored version on my Ao3 page when I do reference some explicit content. I will leave trigger warnings for each chapter though.)

There will also be LGBT characters who in cannon weren't originally LGBT. Like Jessie, James and Meowth. I always viewed Jessie and James as nonbinary/gay for each other or transgender or whatever due to how often they cross-dressed and stuff. I mean, how could you not (search Yamjuburo on Tumblr, an excellent Pokeani artist and a Team Rocket fanatic who makes excellent head-cannons that I may include in here. She also works for Disney now as an animator, definitely one to check out and say hi to.)

Characters will grow. They will have development. They will not be emotionless shells who have no stories behind them. And I will give more information on the Celadon Crime Family in time and their relation to Team Rocket. I'm all just leaving a cliffhanger for suspense. Be patient, enjoy – Andy.


	4. Chapter 4

"Gou! Gou! She's so cute!"

Lula – Gou's newly obtained Scorbunny cowered in fear at the sight of Ash's exuberance. Gou's eyebrows began to twitch. "Hey! She's just a baby so calm down woudja?! It's okay Lula, this is my friend Ash, that's Pikachu and Spearow, they won't hurt you."

Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and extended a palm. "Pika-pi!" '_I've never seen a Pokémon like you before_!'

Lula sniffed Pikachu's paw. A Pikachu, obviously. She had seen one in the wilds of Galar plenty times. They were common. "Raaah?" She titled her head and ruffled her tail. '_But I've seen your species plenty of times! I don't know what the bird is though, Spearow, Gou said? We don't have them in Galar_.'

Ash had bent down and let Spearow get close to Lula, ground-level and Spearow hopped onto the tile. "Roo," '_Fear not, child. I mean no harm. I'm assuming you have another one of my rival species then? Pidgey? We don't get along very well, but they are quite common here in Kanto_.'

Meanwhile Ash and Gou were talking about how Gou was going to train Lula.

"I have an idea, I'd like to start her on a basic training routine, but since she's only eight weeks old she'll have to start out small. I was kinda hoping we'd get to battle but Pikachu and Spearow are much older than Lula and even though Pikachu's older than Spearow I don't know if she has any real control over her attacks yet, let alone her flame,"

Ash crossed his arms, he looked like he was thinking hard. "Well you could try giving her Charcoal, to boost her fire-attacks, that's what you said Rotom said fire-types like, right?"

Lula's ears wriggled at the sound of Charcoal. "Nyaa!" '_I like Charcoal_!' The little Rabbit Pokémon danced around a bit and the two research assistants laughed.

"Seems like she's all for it, and I know it's expensive but I'm sure Professor Oak can forward Professor Sakuragi some. He has contacts like, everywhere. There's probably some dealers he can contact here in Kanto or Johto if you want," Ash knelt down and held out a hand to Lula. "Hi, I'm Ash."

"You'd really do that Ash!?" Gou didn't have a lot of money for most of his life, so the thought of someone doing him a favor like that really lifted his spirits up. Is that what friends did?

"Nyaah?" Lula sniffed Ash's gloved hand and licked her lips. '_You smell nice. But kinda sweaty_.'

Ash's amber eyes blinked slowly. "Sorry! I was out training Spearow and Pikachu! We were preparing for the Gym Circuit!"

Lula's eyes widened. "Raa- Raa!" She pointed with her paws frantically, waving them up and down. '_Did – did you just understand me, Ash_!?'

Both trainers looked at one another, and then Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah! But uh, your kinda talking really fast and only when your talking pretty slow can I get a better understanding of what your saying. Unless it's Pikachu. Pikachu and I can understand each other the best. I dunno why, we just always have since the moment I got him?"

Ash shrugged and Lula looked starry-eyed. "Nyaaaahhh!" '_Coooooooool_!'

Ash laughed. "Oh no, she thinks I'm cool now."

Pikachu sniggered. Hopefully she wasn't going to be too obsessed over him. She was Gou's Pokémon, after all.

"I mean – you are cool!" Gou sputtered and flushed a crimson scarlet. "I mean… You- road on Lugia, with me, without hesitation. It's almost like you weren't afraid at all, do you even get scared?" Gou held his shoulders and tried not to show his blush when Ash fixed his cap.

"I get scared. Course' I do. But Luiga was different. I just road it 'cause I knew I felt like I did it before. Like we talked about."

Gou still didn't understand. But – he got it somehow. "Oh… Right…"

"Nyaa, nyaa!" Lula was bouncing up and down. '_What's a Lugia and why'd you ride it?_ _Was it really that scary_?'

Ash laughed. So, Ash told Lula the story about Lugia. Lula listened. Ash also told Lula the story about the Legendary Duo Ho-Oh and Lugia and Entie, Raikou and Suicine and the Johto Legends. Lula's eyes glistened as she listened patiently. Though Pikachu sparked Ash's hand quickly as he got too immersed in the story his mom had told him a long time ago.

"Pika-pi," '_Don't fill her head with too many ideas, she's just a kid_.'

"Ash! Gou, I have an assignment for you two!" Professor Sakuragi had called in from his study – Gou and Ash immediately leaped up. "Bring Lula too! This is important!"

"Yessir!" Both of them rushed forward to the commotion and Lula trotted behind her trainer.

"Nyaah?" '_What is it_?' The little Fire Bunny titled her head to the side, confused as to what the Professor was worried about on the screen. She couldn't quite make it out as her eyesight was not good for seeing long-range just yet. "Nyaah! Nyaah!" '_Gou, Gou what is it_?' Lula tugged at her trainer's pant leg as she noticed his smell was very indifferent.

"Is – is that? The Pokémon Village near Vermillion?" Someone had broken in. Gou shuddered. "Who managed to get past the walls?"

Pikachu's ears perked up. "Pika-pi?" '_Pokémon Village_?'

"I never heard of this place, is it some sort of top-secret sanctuary hidden by the League or somethin'?" Ash's eyes widened at the major hole that was gaping at the wall that was surrounding what was protecting a large forest like sanctuary. A large truck was outside of the wall, several workers in suits were examining the hole with fighting-type Pokémon like Machop and Hariyama to see if they can seal it up. It was going to take some time to repair it, so it seemed.

"Or something," Professor Sakuragi sighed, shaking his head. "It's not necessarily top-secret. But it is heavily guarded by the League. It's a sanctuary, a safe-haven protected by the League to make sure that all Pokémon are protected and rehabilitated until they're ready to be released into the wild again. Some don't ever leave, but it seems a criminal gang known as Team Rocket had recently gotten in – they were apprehended by a nearby Ranger but I have a request for you two,"

Enzo typed some things up on the screen in a hurried manner. "I'd like you to help transfer some grass-type Pokémon to the Xandu Nursery in Pallet Town. Some of their biomes were damaged in the attack and the transfer devices are down at the moment, it seems as though the rocket agents were bent on trying to guise a coupe in stealing some of the Pokémon that were in storage – some of the rare ones,"

Gou clenched his fists. "We'll go for you, Professor you can count on us! Right Ash?"

Ash blinked his eyes. All of this seemed familiar, somehow. Like he was missing something. "Yeah, we'll go. Will we be allowed to bring our Pokémon?"

"It is recommended, as you are trainers as well as my interns. So, you'll be needing some form of protection under your belt. Just in case. There will be Rangers to guide you, just in case from Vermillion to Pallet Town, so don't worry you'll be safe, but it'll be a several days journey, so make sure to pack up and prepare," Enzo smiled meekly.

"Yessir!" They both saluted and scurried to their rooms to pack for the journey ahead.

They were going on a journey! Together!

. . .

The walk from the city to Pokémon Village wasn't that far. About an hour. Gou and Ash kept their Pokémon outside of their Pokeballs for the most part. Ash using Spearow to scout ahead for any danger but when Lula got tired of trotting along Gou let her cling to his shoulder via-piggyback ride. Gou knew it couldn't be helped, if there were any members of Team Rocket still out there, he would have to be prepared. He wouldn't engage them; he would leave the battling to the Rangers or Ash.

Gou couldn't imagine Lula getting hurt just because of his pride and his want to stop Team Rocket. He was a better person then that. "We're here!" Gou sighed and placed his hands on his knees, panting. They were greeted by a young girl who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen or so. She had a yellow ribbon in her hair and it screamed 'familiarity' to Ash.

"Hello, I'm Melanie Karr and I'm here to help transfer the grass-types to you, you have been allowed to increase your Pokémon limit to carry them back safely correct?" A Bulbasaur trotted up to Melanie's side and began sniffing the air. It began to growl at Lula, who quivered back.

"Hey – stop that – Lula's just a baby! I get she's a fire-type and you're a grass-type but you don't have to be mean to her like that!" Gou scolded and gripped onto Lula tightly and the Bulbasaur bowed its head and Melanie nudged it with her foot. Bulbasaur growled.

"I'm sorry, Bulbasaur doesn't like fire-types, or humans very much. Its mother was killed in a forest fire by a Rocket's Typhlosion and hasn't quite recovered from the ordeal, please forgive him, he'll probably just want to stay inside his Pokeball for the majority of the journey," The girl, Melanie sighed. "Bulbasaur please be courteous of our guests, they'll be given an escort by Ranger Kendall – you're familiar with him. Behave."

"Bulba," '_Fine_.' Muttered the grass-starter as it went back inside the sanctuary, probably to alert the other Pokémon that the trainers were there.

"Bulbasaur doesn't like humans?" Ash muttered as he and Gou were now being led by Melanie, who sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry about that. Pikachu didn't like humans all that much when I first got him, but he warmed up to me pretty quickly."

Melanie smiled. "That's good to hear. You must be very good with Pokémon to have developed a bond with your Pikachu that quickly, I'm assuming Pikachu's your starter?"

Ash grinned and rubbed under his nose. "Yeah! I got Pikachu from Professor Oak last year – I couldn't go on a journey so I became an intern for Professor Sakuragi instead. Pikachu and I are best friends. Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help Bulbasaur over his bitterness towards humans?"

"Ash is really good with Pokémon, like really good," Gou chuckled. "He's like, a Pokémon whisperer."

Ash flushed a light shade of pink and Pikachu chuckled. "I'm not, Pokémon just like me a lot. B-besides, I doubt that Bulbasaur would really feel comfortable being in its Pokeball the whole time we're travelling to Pallet Town, anything I can do to make it more uh – happy?"

Melanie led Ash and Gou into a small building where the Ranger Kendall was – with a Persian by his side. "If you can speak to Bulbasaur about it, perhaps. But for now, I'd like you to meet Ranger Kendall. This is his partner, Persian. Mr. Morris."

"Well hi there! You're the trainers that the Professor sent over? You don't look like much," The Ranger was an older man, looked to be in his early twenties and a Persian by his side who lazily trotted up to Ash and Gou. "I mean, I thought you might be older."

"I'm eleven, Ash is ten. I haven't had my starter for very long, Ash has had Pikachu longer than me. But you have Pokémon so you can do most of the battling for us, right Ranger Kendall," Gou asked feeling a little hopeful and a twinkle formed in the Ranger's eyes.

"Well sure, but I was kinda hoping to have some trainers that'd be able to hold their own a bit. With Team Rocket and the Celadon Crime Family out there there's no telling what could happen, I mean I don't want to scare you kids, but it's rough out there sometimes. I've been a trainer for many years, and now I'm a Ranger," Ranger Kendall sighed, shaking his head.

"Persian here isn't even my starter. My starter is retired. I'm only twenty-two, so that goes to show you how brutal it can be travelling when your unprepared. Now tell me, did you boys pack any supplies for our trip? We're not travelling by car or bus or bike, we're going by foot so it should be about a four-day journey. Give or take."

Ash nodded. "We have enough supplies to make it last for the both of us."

"Good, because I'm not sharing. Only in case of an emergency. Got it? I've got my own team to hold. But if we have time, I might even be able to give you two some tips on how to train your Pokémon, if you want," Kendall grinned and Persian rolled its eyes.

"Really!?" Gou seemed elated at the idea of being trained by a pro. "I mean – I might want to be a researcher someday, but learning how to train my Scorbunny better would be great, do you have any fire-types on you, Kendall?"

Kendall's eyes lit up like diamonds. "A Scorbunny huh. Haven't seen one of those before, at least, not in person." The Ranger's gaze fixed over to the little Fire-Bunny's figure and even though it seemed like a young Pokémon, Kendall wasn't too sure how he could help training a Galarian Pokémon. They were from a completely different region, and most information on Galarian Pokémon was limited to Kantonians.

"I have my Magmar. But most of these Grass-Types aren't fond of Fire-Types, keep that in mind. Like Bulbasaur, who we're travelling with, but if we have time, I'll give you some tips even if I can't show you. I can tell you. OK?" The ranger winked.

"Awesome! Thank you!" Gou whooped and the Scorbunny pranced around leaving a little trail of flames behind her. Both Melanie and Kendall's eyes widened. "She, uh, does that sometimes, don't worry it's hot enough to actually do any serious damage. Plus, she can't even control her flame very well to make it even burn anything just yet, she's only eight weeks old," Gou bent down and petted his starter on the head. "Her name is Lula."

"Only eight-weeks? Arceus. Okay. Well, I'll definitely see if I can get at least one session in with my Mamgar when we reach Pallet, depending on our schedule." The ranger sighed and rubbed his temples. Fire-Types were some of the hardest Pokémon to train and baby fire-types were even more difficult to train. He wasn't just going to leave the kid without some sort of guidance. If he couldn't get training done when they were on the road, he'd do it when they were in Pallet.

"I live in Pallet; I'll be able to see my mom when I get there – which reminds me! I need to call her to let her know we're heading there soon." Ash jumped up. "Gou, you can stay at my house if you want. I have an extra room – uh, where will you be staying Mr. Kendall?"

"Kendall's fine, and Professor Oak already is allowing me to stay at his lab, so it's fine. It's just a short visit for me, make sure to call your mom before we head out, okay?" Kendall sighed realizing he was going to have to deal with two rambunctious kids for four-days and they would have to cross Mt. Moon to get to Pallet. If they ran into any members of Team Rocket… Kendall shivered. He was going to have to fight back.

'_Seriously Professor, what were you thinking_?' Kendall looked to Melanie wondering if it was a good idea to just sent only them out there, but hopefully they would get there unharmed as it seemed like these children had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Kendall did a fake-cough and nudged Melanie. "So, how about lunch?"

The boys immediately said 'yes please'. They had a while before they set off on the road. Ash wondered if he'd get through to Bulbasaur or what kinds of people they would meet on their mini-adventure. It was only supposed to be a four-day journey, but Ash would savor the adventure for as long as he possibly could. He just hoped nothing bad happened along the way.

* * *

Sorry if this seems rushed. I just had this waiting in a folder on my computer unfinished for a while and I just was like 'might as well finish it' and plus there was a lot of stuff going on but I actually feel a lot better now and I noticed this fic was gaining a lot of attention so I'm like 'hey lets finish this chapter'

There's going to a mini-travelling arc from Vermilion to Pallet coming up, it'll be several chapters long and we'll probably encounter some members of Team Rocket along the way so be prepared for some stuff to happen there. Ash hopes nothing bad happens = bad stuff happens. (He's the Chosen One, what do you expect?)

Feedback is appreciated! Let me know what you think in the reviews! Thank you!


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